Stubborn Love
by WingardiumLeviosa01
Summary: "Potter and Evans are stubborn people, it's just a known fact. If they could just get over themselves I'm sure they'd be a perfect pair. And sure, it sounds easy to you and me. But to them... hell, this is stubborn love at it's worst." The story of how Evans and Potter became Lily and James.
1. 137 Days Before

**Chapter 1— 137 DAYS BEFORE**

January 7th, the first Monday back at school since our two-week holidays. I wore the new perfume my Mum and Dad had bought me for Christmas: an expensive lotion and spray set by a designer whose name I couldn't pronounce.

"You smell different," Grace Kwan noted, flipping her sleek black hair over her shoulder and sitting across from me in the sleigh attached to a large white horse. Instead of sitting in carriages being pulled by Thestrals taking the normal route around the lake to get to Hogwarts, the white horses took over this job in the winter, pulling us in sleighs and taking a shorter route across the frozen lake.

"It's a new perfume." I told her, watching as she pulled a compact mirror out from nowhere and played with her new fringe.

"It's nice," she told me, all the while puckering her lips in the mirror and applying a fresh coat of lip gloss. Grace loved to always be 'presentable' as she'd put it. While other girls spoke of Grace in a condescending way, saying she cared too much about her appearance, I quite admired her for it. I believed putting time and effort into something that matters to you should always be applauded. Some decided to put time and effort into schoolwork, and others into hobbies. Grace liked her appearance.

Marlene Smith hopped into the sleigh beside me and, having heard my conversation with Grace, promptly leaned over and sniffed me. "Mm. Nice." She commented casually as if she hadn't just totally interfered into my personal space. I laughed it off though, for this was just Marlene, and over the years of our friendship I had grown to love her silly quirks.

Janice Hernandez, the fourth member of our sleigh knocked the snow off her feet against the stepladder before stepping in.

"I don't want these boots to get ruined _already_," She groaned, bending over to check that her light brown, buckled and gorgeous boots were still unharmed.

"Jan, for Merlin's sake, why would you wear them in ten centimeters of snow if you didn't want them to get wet?" Marlene laughed.

Janice sat back up, adjusting all of her chestnut brown hair to one shoulder and smiling. "Fashion does not change for the weather, darling. The weather changes for fashion."

"I don't think the weather got that memo." Marlene replied sarcastically, as our last member joined us, adjusting her earmuffs and sitting beside Marlene.

"The memo about how I wish the snow would all melt away? Yeah, I think it missed that one too." Kelly Morgan, a petite blonde who had an intense hatred for winter said glumly.

"We're just talking about how Janice wore her—let me guess, new designer boots?" I said. Janice nodded proudly. "—when the weather clearly called for more sensible footwear." I brought Kelly up to pace. Kelly frowned.

"Maybe the weather ought to change for Jan's boots." She suggested miserably, pulling her jacket tight around her small frame as the horse neighed and we began our journey to the school.

Janice grinned. "See!" She yelled, pointing at Marlene. "What did I tell you?"

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Kelly only agrees because she hates the snow."

"Either way, I think we all can agree the snow should get a move on." She said haughtily, staring down at the snow below us with distaste. "I refuse to let my wardrobe go to waste because Mother Nature is having a hissy fit."

"Hey, I like the snow!" I argued, staring at the pretty flakes that had fallen on my lap. Distantly, I remembered playing outside with Petunia, with all her first year knowledge telling me no two flakes were exactly the same. I was always amazed with my older sister's impressive knowledge when I was younger.

"Oh, here we go." Grace mumbled from behind her compact, but her sentence was half cut-off, because Kelly had exploded with: "How can you _say_ that?"

And so our sleigh ride went, play-arguing in teams of two—Marlene and Lily vs. Janice and Kelly—until finally, we ran out of points and rebuttals and we talked about our holidays.

"Well, in addition to these gorgeous things," Janice waved a hand over her boots and grinned. "I also got a new purse by Jacques LeBlanc, the up and coming designer in France fashion. Oh _mes chéries_, you _must_ check out the fashion magazines I picked up while in France, the outfits are to _die_ for!" She said excitedly.

"Let me guess, you bought three pieces from the magazine?" Marlene said.

Before Janice could answer, I cut in, "I bet four."

"My money's on five." Grace chimed in, finally closing her compact and joining our conversation.

"Oh no, I have faith in Jan. I think it was only two!" Kelly said.

Marlene turned to Kelly and tutted. "Silly girl. You're _so_ about to lose a galleon."

"Wait, I didn't know we were betting money—!"

But before Kelly could pull out of the bet, Janice shouted, "Seven!"

For a moment, there was only silence. Then:

"I was closest!" Grace insisted.

"Nuh-uh! That's not how it works!" Marlene claimed.

"Jan, please tell me you're joking." I begged of my friend, staring at her sadly. Her parents were going to be bankrupt from their daughter's insistent love for the world of fashion.

"What?" She said, as if she couldn't find a single problem with this. "If I'm going to be editor of _Dazzle_ one day, I'll need to look the part!"

"_Dazzle_?" Grace asked. "But that's the highest and most prestigious wizarding fashion magazine of all time!"

"That's right. And Grace, you know what else _Dazzle_ specializes in aside from fashion?" Janice sang.

"Makeup." Grace whispered, then said loudly, "I think Jan should go for it!"

We all had a hearty laugh at that, until I addressed Janice, "How long have you wanted to become editor for _Dazzle_?"

"I decided over the holidays, when my aunt who works as secretary for _Dazzle Enterprises_ gave me all of last season's clothing for Christmas!" She said excitedly. "It'll need a bit of tweaking here and there to bring it up to date, but nonetheless...!"

"I think it's great you know what you want to do." I smiled, as Marlene scoffed angrily, whipping around to her right to face Kelly.

"Would you quit shaking?" She demanded, as Kelly scowled furiously.

"I would if it wasn't so damn cold!" She argued, wrapping her gloved hands around her sides and shaking frantically for affect.

Just as Marlene opened her mouth to argue back, I shouted, "We're here!" And brought everyone's attention to the glowing school, as all traces of a likely fight wiped from Kelly and Marlene's features.

"_Yessss._" Grace grinned, dusting off her lap as the sleigh came to a stop.

Janice urged us all to jump out before her, and so we did, waiting in the snow for her to step out in her boots. However, she surprised us all when she whipped out her wand and used a heating spell to melt the snow before she walked on it.

"_That's_ what I'm talking about." Kelly said appreciatively, and while she, Janice and Grace walked along in the melted pathway, Marlene and I were steps behind, walking slightly to the left of them, preferring to trudge through the snow.

"Oh, come on!" A male voice shouted from behind us. I realized whom it was at once, as Potter continued, "It's winter! You've got to walk in the snow, it's a rule!"

"Show me the rule!" Kelly yelled back, not even bothering to turn her head.

"Evans and Marlene know where I'm coming from!" He yelled back, as he, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin jogged up beside us.

"Hey." I said politely to them all, nodding to them in salutation.

Potter sidled up beside me and said, "How were your holidays, Evans?"

"Fantastic thanks, how were yours?" I asked. Over sixth year, Potter and I had come to a silent agreement to tolerate each other.

"It was horrible." Said Potter sadly.

"Why?"

"It was without you." He lightened, giving me his oh-so-famous Potter grin. I rolled my eyes. Scratch what I said before about tolerating Potter. I could only tolerate him for so long until...

"Is this really how we're going to start off the New Year? _Really?_" I demanded.

He mulled that over for a bit, then grinned. "Yes."

I blew hot air into my hands, warming them up. "You're lucky my hands are numb or I would have just socked you right then." I told him.

"I could hold them to warm them up," He suggested brightly.

"Potter," I warned. Before the holidays, Potter was doing well with not passing the point of no return. He would ask me out on a date, I'd reply with some sarcastic comment, he'd reply back with one, and then that would be the end of it. Tired as I might get, I could handle that much. However, Potter was slowly inching where he really didn't want to go with me.

He raised his hands in surrender, as if reading my mind. "Hey," He said, shoving his hands back in his pockets, for they probably couldn't stand the cold for more than a couple seconds. "I just wanted to see if you'd changed your mind over the holidays."

"What," I laughed. "As if I'd had a sudden epiphany that I truly want you, and all of these feelings of hatred were really just love?"

"Quite exactly like that, actually." His cheeky grin poked from above his scarf.

I snorted. Again, in a way, I really didn't mind when Potter joked around with me. It was annoying and tiring at times, but for the most part, when he and I threw sarcastic comments back and forth, it was actually kind of funny.

"Believe me, Lily Evans," He said seriously, responding to my snort of disbelief. "One day, you'll come to your senses."

"Sure... that will be the day after I get hit by a flying pig." I told him.

He laughed at that, and finally, let it go.

"Lily," Remus started, once he'd realized Potter and I were finished. "Want to meet in my dorm before rounds tonight?"

"Sure," I agreed, smiling. The best part about Potter nowadays was that he had learned when to stop. Had we been in fifth year, he probably would have inserted a comment there about how Remus was trying to steal his girl from him. I looked at him and he was looking at me already, smiling as if he was thinking the same exact thing.

Turning to my left, I joined in on Marlene, Sirius, and Peter's conversation about Christmas gifts.

"You're kidding me." Marlene said dubiously.

Sirius grinned, shaking his head no. "Am I right, Prongs?" I would never understand why these four boys had the wildest nicknames for each other, but they did, and they used them constantly. "A flying motorbike from Mum and Dad?"

I turned my head to Potter as he nodded, grinning just as wide as Sirius.

"And what'd you get?" I asked him, as Remus walked away from Potter's side to join in with Marlene, Peter, and Sirius.

"Nothing." He smiled. "I told my parents to put my Christmas gift money into Sirius's motorbike."

Impressed, I smiled back at him. "You're a pretty decent bloke, you know that, Potter?"

"Decent enough to date?" He jumped on the opportunity so quickly, it made me laugh.

"No," I told him laughing. "But decent, nonetheless."

And about thirty seconds after walking into the castle in silence he said, "Lily,"

I turned to him, taking off my scarf. He smiled at me.

"Thanks."

* * *

**Author's Note: Disclaimer goes to the wonderful and talented JK Rowling, and also the idea of using the Before/After style of writing comes from the amazing John Green. **

**Please review for me! Let me know what you liked and disliked! I welcome all compliments and constructive criticism. **

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Taylor**


	2. 135 Days Before

**Chapter 2****—135 DAYS BEFORE**

Walking into the Great Hall on our second day of school was depressing as hell. The snow had turned into an ever-present rain since our welcome-back dinner two days ago. Watching the rain pound against the ceiling, I almost wished Dumbledore would enchant the ceiling to show a beautiful summer's day. Try as I might to defend nature, this was the one type of weather where I had to agree with Kelly's constant grumbling: it sucked.

Rain was just gross. I did not like how it turned the snow into slush and I did not like how it turned the sky an ugly grey. As I expressed these feelings aloud, Marlene disagreed, saying:

"At least you can jump in the puddles."

I shook my head at this too. "I don't like that." Seeing as she was about to say something else, I cut her off, guessing what she was about to say, and responding to it with, "Not even when I was younger."

She shut her mouth. I sighed. "And ugh," I sneered. "How on earth can people find this romantic to kiss in?" I groaned. "It's ugly. There's nothing romantic about it!" Personally, I would have preferred kissing on a beautiful summer's day, with a light breeze and a warm sun.

"_Au contraire_, Evans," Potter appeared behind me. I turned around as he stood, staring down at me. "I believe it would be quite romantic."

"You've never done it, then?" I asked. Potter had dated—by my count—a total of four girls.

He shook his head as no. "I'd love to try though. How about we test out that theory of yours?" He wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

"Not for a million galleons." I said. "Nay, a _trillion_." I said strongly, as the rain pounded particularly hard, emphasizing my point quite nicely.

"I'll get you to change your mind." He said vaguely, before nodding his head as goodbye and joining his mates who sat at the far end of the table.

I shook my head, chuckling, and turned back to my mates, who had switched topics to the project McGonagall had just laid on us unfairly.

"She could have at least told us about it before the break," Kelly sighed. "Then we would've had more time to work on it."

"_Please,_ you don't think anyone would have actually worked on it over the holidays?" Marlene snorted.

"I would have." I piped up, scooping up an extra helping of mashed potatoes. God, I loved mashed potatoes. They were the only glimmer of hope to keep me going on this long, depressing day.

"Well, you don't count." Marlene said. I laughed, popping a spoonful of mashed potatoes in and savouring the taste.

"What is your mark in Transfiguration anyway?" Grace asked, sipping on some water. I noticed her plate was empty.

Just as I was about to say something, Kelly said, "Aren't you going to eat anything?"

"I'm on a diet." Grace answered.

"That doesn't look like a diet," Kelly said, concerned. "It looks like starving."

"I don't suppose you'd know anything about dieting, Miss Permanently Eighty Pounds!" Grace hissed.

Kelly looked hurt. "I weigh ninety." She said, but about halfway through, she seemed to realize this was a dumb thing to say, and she got noticeably quieter near the end.

Before anybody could say anything else, I spoke up, changing topics back to school. Marlene followed my lead, and spoke to Kelly and Janice about project ideas.

While the three girls chatted, I scooped up some more mashed potatoes but this time, I placed them on Grace's plate. She looked up at me silently, and I mouthed, _Please._

She looked down at the mashed potatoes and shook her head, but reached for the peas and placed a serving on her plate. I smiled at her as she ate each pea, washing every ten or so down with a tall glass of water. It wasn't great, but it was OK, and that's all I could hope from her.

After lunch, as Grace, Marlene and Kelly walked out of the Great Hall, I grabbed Janice's hand and pulled her back a bit.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Grace is your best mate," I said quietly, so they wouldn't hear us. "You're closer to her than any of us are, and I don't know if you've realized, but Grace is—"

"Starving herself," Janice said it as if it pained her to. "I know. I bought her some clothes from France and I plan on giving them to her for her birthday." Grace's birthday was coming up just this Sunday. "Sizing in France is different, so I figure I'll tell her that a 38 is a size 8 in UK."

"And it's really a..."

"Size 10, her actual size." Janice told me, then shook her head sadly. "She's been reading a lot of the fashion magazines from France, too. Those poor women in the magazines take famine as if it's sport." She sighed. "I'll knock some sense into her, don't worry."

I smiled at her, happy Grace had such a wonderful best mate. Janice ran ahead to catch up with Grace, talking to her animatedly about how beautiful her eyes looked with that particular makeup on, and Marlene and Kelly joined in instantaneously, commenting on how eye-catching her lipstick was, and how well her new fringe suited her.

"I'm starving," I said, reaching into my bag and pulling out some chocolate I had received for Christmas. "Anybody want some?"

"Mmm," Kelly broke off a piece. Marlene and Janice followed suit and without even having to look at her, Grace tore off a tiny piece.

We all smiled at one another as Grace continued walking. Janice did a little dance as I put the chocolate back in my bag, grinning. Grace turned around, looked at us and said, "Well? Are you lot coming or what?"

Smiling we all caught up with her. She turned to me then, and asked me, "Can I have some more of that?"

And after that, the rain wasn't bothering us anymore. We all wore smiles brighter than the sun for the rest of the day.

"My, Lily!" Professor Slughorn greeted me as I stepped into the dungeons with my mates. "You're positively beaming!"

"It's been a good day," I said as reasoning, smiling at him and taking my seat.

"Someone's mood has changed," Potter said from in front of me, placing his bag on the desk and taking out his textbook. He looked at it strangely, then opened it up to a random page, tilting his head to the side.

"Er, Potter?" I asked, apprehensive.

"This isn't my textbook," Potter explained, flipping to back cover of the book. "_Property of the Half-Blood Prince," _He read aloud, then looked at me skeptically. I shrugged in answer, shaking my head.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Severus appeared by his side and grabbed it from his hands. "This is _mine." _He hissed, taking out a newer looking copy from his bag and shoving it into Potter's chest. He took his seat beside Potter and placed his textbook in front of him on his desk. Compared to Potter's copy, Severus's textbook looked like it'd been through hell. I imagined this was because Potter had never opened his potions textbook in his life.

"You know, Snape," Potter spoke up, placing his textbook on his desk and staring down at Severus. "I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to write in these things."

"If I were you, I'd mind my own buidness." Severus said, probably not sounding as intimidating as he wanted to on account of his cold.

"Sure, whatever you say," Potter sat down beside him. "_Prince_."

The bell rung then, as Professor Slughorn took his usual spot by his desk, leaning on it as if unsure whether to sit on it or to stand by it. Almost lazily, he waved his wand as potion instructions filled the blackboard from top to bottom.

I'd read about this potion, and I was extremely excited to start. Apparently, so was Sirius, as he jumped from his seat and ran to the cupboards.

"Mr. Black!" Slughorn clapped his hands excitedly, as Sirius turned to him with arms full. "Please, Mr. Black, take your seat. I'm going to explain a bit before we start."

Sirius sighed and returned the ingredients back to the cupboards. Potter sniggered at him from his seat and as Sirius passed, he flashed him a hand gesture that made me giggle despite myself.

"Now, this particular potion is extremely hard to get right," He paused, looking in my direction. "I have a hunch only a couple students in this class will even come close."

"Aw shucks Professor, you're too kind," Potter spoke up from beside Severus. The entire class laughed, including me.

Slughorn was the one teacher who was obvious about his favourites and well, as embarrassing as it was; Severus and I were his favourites (but me in particular because I laughed at Slughorn's bad jokes at the Slug Club while Severus never even bothered to show up). The entire class always knew whom he was talking about when he said _'a couple students' _and everybody hated it. Potter was just being funny, which is why it came as such a surprise when Slughorn got so angry.

"You will report to me after class, young man," Slughorn told him seriously. Sirius was chuckling at his friend's misfortune when Slughorn wheeled on him, saying, "And you, do you find this humorous?"

"Oh no sir, not in the slightest." Sirius said, containing a grin behind his hand.

"Hmph." Slughorn adjusted his vest, pompously. "Now class, if you are finished having a hoot about Mr. Potter's jokes, I will teach you this potion:"

And that's when it dawned on me.

"This potion is called the 'Angry Potion' for obvious reasons," Half of the class _ahh_ed while the other half was still confused. Slughorn continued on, "It releases a smell that makes anyone within 3 feet of the potion extremely angry."

At that moment, the whole class understood. Also, Severus sniffled, and Slughorn wheeled on him, saying, "Do you find this class too simple for yourself? Hmm? You think you can stick your nose in the air like you're royalty?"

"Prince." James said, when Slughorn turned around.

"What was that, Mr. Potter?" He demanded, whipping back around quickly.

"Professor Slughorn!" I stood up from my seat and ran to the potion, putting the cap back on. Instantly, the class cheered for me, which felt pretty good.

"I will not have this nonsense in my... my... my word class, I feel woozy, I—I'm sorry I must simply sit down," And I helped him to his desk chair, where he promptly feel asleep.

Looking up, I realized the whole class was looking at me curiously. I felt the gaze of thirty students and let me tell you, what a powerful gaze that is. Stuttering a bit, I managed to get out, "Er... free p-period. Just, um, yeah, don't g-go in the halls or we'll get in trouble with Filch just er, st-stay here."

And then the eyes were off me and I caught my breath and the class around me got louder as more people began chatting and I sat down at my desk, copying down all of Slughorn's instructions into my notebook.

"Hey," Potter said from above me. I didn't even need to check that it was him. I recognized his voice by now. "Free period, remember? Why are you working?"

I looked past him to the blackboard. "I've got to get ahead of he curb," I said without looking up.

"Ah, I see. This is how you get the good grades, huh?" I could hear his smile in his voice. Finally, I looked up.

"You've found me out." I pretended to look sheepish. He laughed at that.

"Well, I like a smart bird. How about we go on a date sometime?"

"Well, I like a smart bloke, so how about not?" I threw back without pause.

"Ooh. Got me there," He agreed, climbing over the row of desks and taking a spot beside me. With his wand, he brought his things to the desk he sat in now, and began writing.

"What are you doing?" I asked, watching as he wrote the date at the top of his page in neat but tight writing. He looked up at me and smiled warmly.

"Becoming a smart bloke. So, how about that date?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Wow! I'm so happy with all the reviews I got last chapter, they were all so positive and encouraging! Thanks so much for reading and hopefully, you take the time to review for me!**

**Love you all,**

**-Taylor**


	3. 130 Days Before

**Chapter 3—130 DAYS BEFORE**

Five days after McGonagall had assigned us a project, I was already finished. I hardly had homework in any other classes, and figured that the earlier I start, the more time I'll have to revise it, and then the better I do on it.

How wrong I was.

"I'm terribly sorry class, but the project that I assigned last Tuesday is no longer needed. Instead, I am going to assign your final project now, and you will have until the end of the year to complete it, but on your own time. You will not get any class time to work on this project. This is a new idea that the Ministry of Magic has discussed with Dumbledore. It sharpens your skills of teamwork, initiative, responsibility and hopefully, _Transfiguration_." She rolled her eyes slightly, as if the whole thing was a waste of time to her.

"Miss," Kelly raised her hand tentatively—she had always been a little frightened by McGonagall. "Sorry—you said er, teamwork? Will this be with partners?"

McGonagall's lips spread from their permanent tight line, which I assumed was as close as she was ever going to get to a smile and said, "Yes Kelly."

Almost immediately, heads turned in all directions, friends meeting friends' eyes and deciding then and there who was with whom.

McGonagall cleared her throat, and said, "And before you decide who will be with whom... I have assigned partners written down here."

I groaned in unison with my class as McGonagall pointedly ignored us all. She pulled out a clipboard and, clearing her throat again—was that _another_ person with a cold?—she called out, "Henrietta Finn with Marlene Smith," I was instantly jealous. One of Henrietta's family members was a registered Animagus. I craned my neck to watch Marlene smile at the shy Ravenclaw, and Marlene caught my eye, smirking at me. I stuck my tongue at her, shaking my head at her luck. After calling out another few irrelevant names, she called, "Janice Hernandez with Grace Kwan," and there was suppressed laughter and the sound of two girls high-fiving each other. I stared meaningfully at McGonagall, seeing as three of my best mates had gotten the perfect partners, I tried to convey a message of _please put me with someone good _to her. "Kelly Morgan with Remus Lupin, and Lily Evans with James Potter."

Raised eyebrows, I turned around in my seat to meet his mischievous eyes. I shook my head slightly as he took the place beside me, putting his head in his hands and watching me.

"Hey pardner," He said with what was a pathetic Southern American accent.

"Oh God," I muttered, opening my notebook and taking my quill as McGonagall flew the project outline in front of each partner. As I scribbled my name in the top corner of my outline package, I looked over to see him sucking on his quill. "Is that a sugarquill?"

"You bet," he said. "Want one?"

"I'd love it." I said gratefully, happy for something to do with my hands besides write notes. I was a very fidgety person you see, and not that Potter made me uncomfortable or anything, but it's not as if we were that close. I'd never had to work on anything with him, but I knew he was good at Transfiguration, so I hoped he could get us out of this one with a good mark.

"Listen," I said, after nodding thanks to him and beginning to suck on my sugarquill. "Transfiguration isn't exactly one of my finer subjects."

"Luckily for you Evans, it's my finest subject." He smirked proudly, as I stared at him in doubt. He leaned over me for the outline, and brushed against my forearm as he took the paper from my grasp and wrote his name in his tight writing beside mine in my wide, bubbly writing. He then continued to read it, and once he was finished, he placed it back in front of me.

"Seems easy enough. All we've to do is write a paper on the differences of transfiguring live things with inanimate objects, and I was thinking in our presentation we could do a transfiguration of like, a rat to a teacup—first year stuff, y'know—and then we could do a teacup to a rat and then talk about what we did differently and..." He paused. "Am I taking over?" He asked bashfully. "Sorry, Sirius used to always say I always took over in group projects, and I just—"

"No!" I interrupted, cutting him off quickly. "Really, it was good. I think we should do something a bit harder than a rat and a teacup though, just to show our skills of course, and yes. What you said, we'd just talk about what we did differently in the different transfigurations. I think it's a brilliant idea."

He looked down, rubbing the back of his neck as if shy. "Well, um. Good, I guess." And he chuckled nervously. I almost laughed out loud at how terribly awkward he was being.

"Are you OK?" I laughed a bit to ease the tension.

"Well, I—" He sighed. "I really like Transfiguration and I just don't want to seem like a drag or something, but I really do want to get a good grade..."

"Potter," I said seriously. "This is me you're talking to. I want a good grade just as bad as you do, trust me." I chuckled and touched his knee, and finally, he looked up at me.

"Cool." He said, in a way that made me take my hand off his knee instantly. His normal flirtatious leer was back, and I hated it. "And you know what day it is today Evans?"

"Um, Monday?" I asked in a monotone, dreading what was coming next.

"January 14th!" He prompted me, as if this should give me some sort of revelation as to what he was so excited about. "Evans! It's a month till Valentine's Day!"

"Alright," I laughed at his giddiness. Suddenly, he became even shyer than before as he sat down in front of me and started stuttering.

"Well, I mean, if y'know if you want t-to I'd um, shucks, will ya be my Valentine?" He burst out louder than appropriate and the groups beside us turned in their seats to stare.

"No, Potter." I said loudly, so they'd hear.

"Please?" He wailed on his knees, so loud that even more students turned in their seats. I caught the eye of Marlene who, again, was smirking at me. I turned back to Potter.

"No." I said strongly, warning him again that he was going too far. "Get up."

"Not until you say yes!" He moaned, and now McGonagall looked up. I met her stern eyes and shrugged an apology, motioning to the whimpering James Potter on the floor.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, and that was all that needed to be said. He stood up in a second, saluted to her like a soldier, and sat back down, back to writing on our project outline.

I laughed to myself as I watched him hunched over our project so enthusiastically it was almost cute. He looked up to me then, with the hopeful eyes of a toddler, and I smiled at him.

"What?" He asked again, almost self-consciously.

Again, I couldn't help thinking how endearing he was being. I just wanted to ruffle his hair in my hands and tell him to get back to work. This was however, inappropriate for our platonic relationship, and so I simply smiled and said, "I'll take it from here,"

"Oh, no it's OK." He claimed, guarding the paper like it was his lifeline. "I've got this."

"James, I feel useless." I insisted tiredly after about five minutes of watching him like he was a sitcom on the telly. A rather repetitive sitcom, come to think of it: he simply had endless ideas, never even stopping to stretch out his hand, as if it wasn't completely cramped up by then.

He looked up quickly. "Oh, you er," He laughed calmly, running a hand through his hair. "You called me James."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Had I? Oh God, I _had_. "I—I'm sorry."

"No," He insisted. "It's OK. Kinda nice," He said slowly, as if not completely sure.

"I didn't mean to, honestly." I swore, biting the last bite nervously on my sugarquill.

"Want another?" He looked at my empty hand. I was thankful for the change of subject.

I probably should have said no right then, but my fidgety hands were just too much to handle. "Please." I said gratefully, taking the new one and popping it straight into my mouth.

"Fidgety hands?" He guessed, going back to work.

Surprised, I looked at him carefully. "How'd you know?"

"I've got the same thing," He said calmly. I watched his hands a lot after that and let me tell you, I did not see his hands twitch even once.

"Thank you class, and remember," She sighed as if it pained her to say it, "Your paper and presentation is not due until June 22nd. Have a nice day."

Sugarquill still in mouth, I packed up my bag and slung it over one shoulder, smiling at him. "This wasn't so bad," I said, and truthfully, it actually wasn't.

He looked at me like he didn't know what to say to that, and he simply smiled. Remus and Kelly appeared beside us, asking our ideas for the project.

"Potter came up with our brilliant idea," I said, purposely referring to him by his surname. I continued to explain our 'live show' idea, which Kelly and Remus agreed was excellent.

As I boasted about my partner to my friends, I realized how shy James was being. Normally—although I couldn't think of any recent moments—he would brag about himself even more than I was, staying on the topic of his awesomeness for as long as possible.

"Alright," He had laughed. "Can we talk about someone else's project ideas now?"

I watched as he listened intently to Remus and Kelly's ideas, wondering who on earth had knocked him off his high horse. _Tackled him off, more like, _I thought to myself, watching as he smiled, as if relieved the subject was not about him anymore.

He looked up then, and caught me staring. He nodded to me in acknowledgement, the relieved smile still on his face as we turned into the Great Hall.

Curious, I pulled Sirius away from our group once he and Peter had caught up to us.

Now, Sirius Black and I weren't friends: I didn't hate him like I usually hated Potter, but we didn't talk aside from the polite, "How was your holidays?" or "What did you get for question five on Charms homework?" But as he jutted out his defined bottom jaw and stared at me curiously, I got down to the point.

"I know this sounds stupid but um, why has Potter's enormous head suddenly deflated?" I said, staring at Potter pointedly while he took a seat in between Peter and Remus at the Gryffindor table.

"Because I told him to," He said proudly, puffing his chest out much like Potter used to. "And I'm glad people are _finally_ starting to notice," He groaned as if it had been so obvious all along. But then... how long had this been going on?

"What d'you mean you told him to? And when?"

He smiled at me as if he shared an inside joke that I wasn't a part of. It was a sly, half-smirk that made me wonder if I'd come to school in my pants.

"What?" I demanded.

"D'you fancy him, then?" He said excitedly.

"No!" I said too quickly. He took my answer for its opposite. "Black, listen, I _don't!_" I insisted. "Honestly, please, don't say that!"

"I didn't say anything," He sing-songed.

"Listen, Black," I said in my most serious tone, eyes darkening as I stared him down. "If your lie gets to him, he'll never stop asking me out. I don't fancy him, and if you tell him I do, I'll..." I paused.

"You'll, what?" He smirked, obviously pleased with him. I wanted nothing more than to sock him right in that disgusting smirk-mouth.

However, I simply smirked back, reminding myself of the one thing I had against him: "I'll tell Marlene you used to fancy her."

He chuckled, seemingly unconcerned. "I never fancied Marlene,"

"_And as the pads on my feet beat to the tempo of my heart,_

_I am reminded it is our families that keep us apart,_

_Oh why must my last name be so dark, so bleak?_" I recited from memory, stopping halfway through the poem. My point had gotten across.

"Nice poem," He commented calmly, but his ears were reddening by the second.

I laughed out loud. "I found that poem shoved under my dorm's door last year, addressed to Marlene."

"Maybe you shouldn't have read it, then," He snapped, particularly angry about this 'nice poem'. He worked to calm himself, and I laughed again.

"Listen, I have something on you—whether you care to admit to it or not—and you _think _you have something on me—which, by the way, you _don't" _I stressed the word. "So by law of nature, we both keep our mouths shut of any rumours." I said, making sure he looked me in the eyes as I took his calloused hand in mine. "Deal?"

"Fine." He said gruffly, shaking hands, and promptly leaving to join his mates eating lunch.

Once I sat beside Grace and poured myself a cup of juice, I finally sighed, relieved. If Sirius ever told Potter that I fancied him, Potter would go ballistic, and _right _when I was actually starting to like being with him. Taking a sip of OJ, I looked up at Marlene through my lashes, wondering what might have happened if she'd ever found that poem from Sirius. Would she have deciphered the clues of the writer, as I had? Would she have broken up with Mark McKinnon, her boyfriend whom she was still happily dating?

But she looked happy, at that alone was enough to ease the guilt that I felt from stealing her note. One day maybe, when Sirius had gotten over his embarrassment from it, I might show her.

* * *

**Authour's Note: Tell me what you thought of this chapter! Do you like that Sirius had a thing for Marlene? Do you want to hear more of that backstory? Review for me and tell me anything!**

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Taylor**


	4. 129 Days Before

**Chapter 4—129 DAYS BEFORE**

The day after I had been assigned partners with Potter for Transfiguration, he greeted me once again, in Potions.

"Er, fancy seeing you here," He half-joked, clearly just as baffled as I was by this coincidence. All right, so we had two projects and we just happened to be together for both of them. It was just a simple fluke, right?

However, I couldn't resist asking Professor Slughorn after he'd announced our partners, "May I ask how you chose partners for this project, sir?"

"Simply random picking," He sung, which eased my panic a bit. I was overreacting, and I knew it, so I didn't voice my concerns aloud. I didn't want Potter to think he made me nervous or something.

"Unlike some of your other projects which have probably or will probably be announced recently, this one is not due for the end of the year. This project will be due in precisely three weeks. February 12th."

I raised my eyebrows to my partner, silently telling him that I had this one. He agreed strongly, by his over-exaggerated nod as he pushed his notebook towards me, with a sugarquill on top.

I smiled at his sweet gesture, and popped the quill into my mouth at once.

"Mm," I whispered. "Raspberry."

"I like Watermelon more," He commented. In response, I threw him a look of disgust. He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

As Slughorn began to explain the project, I opened his notebook to take notes. I flipped through the several used pages, until I came across a particular page that made me stop. The entire page was full of doodles of golden snitches, but that wasn't the important part. The snitches that he'd drawn were all the same, but all somehow tweaked, as if trying to draw the perfect one. Finally, near the end of the page, he'd circled in red the one that I agreed was the best drawn.

In it, he'd sketched the letters L.E.

Quickly flipping to a blank page before he could see the page I'd landed on, I began taking notes with a feverish passion. He noticed, of course.

"Everything OK?" He asked, chuckling uneasily.

"Just uh," I paused. "This sugarquill is just _really _good." I said, too enthusiastically for him to believe. But thankfully, he pretended to buy it, and he simply nodded, saying:

"I guess next Hogsmeade I'll have to get you some more Raspberry ones." With a grin, he added, "Or we could go together."

Thankful for this easy opportunity to banter with him like usual, I forced a laugh, getting my voice back to normal tone. "Not for all the Raspberry sugarquills in the world."

After Potions, I had Arithmancy while Marlene took Astronomy. Before class, I'd told her to meet me in the second floor girl's bathroom at 1:30 exactly. She nodded without questioning, and, checking my watch nervously at 1:32, I wondered if she'd been able to get out of class.

I used my spare time to think of how I would say this to her.

"_Listen Marlene, I think James fancies me."_

_"Listen Lily, I think the whole freaking school knows that."_

I paused, leaning against a stall. That was true. Everyone_ did _know that James Potter fancied me, but then why was I so surprised by his doodling?

I guess I'd just always thought he asked me out because I always said no. He had never really admitted out loud to fancying me. But there it was, in the print.

_"Listen Marlene, James fancies me. I saw my initials in his notebook."_

_"Aww... in a heart?"_

_"Er, no. A golden snitch."_

She'd laugh. I was being over-dramatic. Just because the initials L.E. were doodled in the best-drawn snitch, it didn't mean he fancied me! Or maybe it was just a metaphor for how I'd captured his heart. But wait a second; the snitch didn't capture the seeker... Maybe it meant he'd captured _my_ heart? But—James wasn't even a seeker _he was a_ _chaser!_

My head hurt. Finally, as if playing the role of the airplane responding to my S.O.S. written in the sand, Marlene dashed into the abandoned lavatories.

"What's up?" she huffed, as if she had ran here. Come to think of it, the Astronomy Tower was pretty far. Maybe I should have thought our meeting place a little more through.

"I, er—" I paused, unsure of what to say. Finally, deciding she'd make of it what she would, I just told her the full story. "What do you think?" I asked at the end, gauging her reaction.

"Well Lily, as usual, you've managed to blow a simple story way out of proportion." She told me. "The only unusual thing about your story is how worked up you're getting over it. Since when do you _care?_"

I sighed. "I don't know. I think we're like, _friends_." I said carefully, as if testing the word for the first time.

I'd expected her to laugh. To mock me, "_You and Potter? Friends? Hah!"_ That would have been better than the look of pity she offered me instead.

"Oh, Lil." She said, the softness of her tone throwing me off. Marlene was one to hardly ever be gentle with anyone. She was blunt and to the point, which I'd always liked. Her tone instantly made the hair on my neck stand up.

"What?" I asked desperately.

"Tell me you don't fancy Potter." She put a hand on my shoulder like a mother with her child.

Laughing, I shrugged her hand off my shoulder. "Jesus Mar, you got me scared for nothing," I sighed in relief. "No, I don't like Potter." I said confidently.

"Tell me you aren't _starting_ to fancy Potter," She emphasized.

"Not fancy him, but I _like_ him, yeah." I admitted. Was it such a bad thing? I was allowed to enjoy his company, when he wasn't asking me out. And undoubtedly, he hardly even asked me out anymore.

"Like, or _like_ like?" Marlene clarified.

"_Christ_, are we in second year?" I demanded, running a hand through my scalp. "I enjoy his company. He's my partner for two big projects, I think it's acceptable to get to know him a little better if we'll be spending the whole year together, is that _such a bad thing?"_

Marlene raised her hands in the air, as if in surrender. "I never said it was a bad thing," She said, a hint of song in her voice. "You did."

And then she winked at me knowingly, and left without even a goodbye, a skip in her step that wasn't there before.

"_It's a bad thing because I don't want this to ruin our friendship!_" I called too late. Why on earth was everyone getting the sudden impression that I fancied Potter? Come on! They knew me! I couldn't possibly like Potter... the arrogant, bullying, self-centered, careless, flirtatious, irresponsible, thoughtless, patronizing Potter!

God, I couldn't stand how he held himself on such a high pedestal! He thought he ruled the school, and he bullied everyone to keep it that way. He didn't give a damn about anybody but his best mates, and he winked at anything with legs!

Catching my reflection in the cracked mirror, I noticed my face was burning. I ran the cold water, jumping back as Moaning Myrtle came out instead.

"Hello," She sung moodily. "What are you doing here? Come to taunt me with your prettiness and your livingness?" She flew straight up in my face, and I jumped back.

"Don't be self-centered, Myrtle, the world doesn't revolve around _you_." I said with emphasis.

Much like my present situation, in third year I had brought Marlene in here to talk about how much I hated Potter for hexing Severus again. Myrtle had glided through me countless times—scaring me shitless—moaning loudly about how she wished boys would fight over her again.

"_Again?_" Marlene had quoted dubiously. "_When have boys ever fought over _you?"

Ever since then, Myrtle hadn't exactly taken a shining to myself and my hot-tempered, feisty friend.

However, I refused to move my meeting place someplace else—this place was too good to be true, completely empty 24/7!—and so I dealt with Myrtle every time I had boy problems (or more specifically, _Potter _problems).

"What boy problems have you now," Myrtle sighed. As much as she may hate to admit it, I was pretty much the only action Myrtle saw in here. She hated _me_, but she loved my gossip.

"Like hell I'm telling you," I rolled my eyes, splashing my rosy face with cold water and drying it with my sleeves.

"Is it about _Potter?_" She sung in a voice that was not pleasing to the ears in the least. It sounded like a cat getting its tail stuck in the doorway.

"I don't have any problems with him." I said haughtily, pushing all thoughts from him from my mind.

"Don't be silly, I heard you speaking with _her_." The last word dripping with as much venom as Myrtle could muster.

"Whatever Myrtle, go back to moaning." I said breezily. I had learned at an early age that the best way to deal with gossips is to completely ignore them. The harder they press for information, the more vague you become.

I left the lavatories with her yelling words I don't care to repeat, and I held my head high until I bumped into...

"Remus!" I said, surprised. "Not skipping I hope?" I teased.

"Actually, yes." He admitted, rubbing his arm. "I can't stand Arithmancy."

"We should study for the test together," I suggested. "What are you doing after classes?"

"Er, today's no good for me, sorry." He said limply. "I've got a, er, pre-arranged thing."

"Sure thing." I smiled, trying not to read into how vague he sounded. "Maybe tomorrow?" I suggested.

He shook his head as no, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, this week's pretty full for me."

Trying not to take this at heart, I nodded, forcing an understanding smile. I didn't fail to notice that he didn't suggest that we meet next week, though. I didn't dare suggest it; my ego was bruised enough and didn't need yet another fake excuse to soften the blow.

"So er—bye," He said awkwardly, walking at what was almost a jog to turn the corner.

And I walked back to Arithmancy alone, realizing that Remus was practically my only friend in this class. The class was half full of Ravenclaws who stereotypically thought they were smarter than the rest of the class and only spoke amongst themselves, and the rest of the half of the class was too shy to talk to anybody. Remus and I sat in the very back, his seat directly in front of mine.

We worked together every time Hobbs finished talking and gave us in class-assignments. He would usually turn around with one of the following:

"_What?_"

"OK, this isn't even _English_ now."

"Professor Hobbs has _officially_ gone mad,"

"Lily I need _heeeellllp_."

I'd laugh, and try my best to help him. Remus and I both took this class because we agreed it would be a challenge, but we had no idea the challenge would be _this_ impossible. Whether it be the teacher or the subject, we had homework every single night, a test every week, and Hobbs _constantly_ picked us to answer random questions in the middle of class (that was the worst because if you got the answer wrong, the Ravenclaws all laughed condescendingly in your face).

However, with Remus suddenly giving me the cold-shoulder (to be fair, he was quite pleasant about the whole thing, I guess I'd just expected a better explanation from him), I had never felt more alone in this class full of—and you can't quote me on this because technically I never said it aloud—_nerds._

Seriously. I was pretty sure there were two people in this class who were in relationships and they were in a relationship with _each other_. Not that dating someone made you cool or anything, because in which case I'd be the nerdiest nerd of nerd history. Then again, I _was_ taking Arithmancy.

"Now class," Professor Hobbs pushed his heavy-framed glasses higher up on his nose, and pulling up his already high trousers. I swear to God, this entire class was a living, breathing stereotype. I had never felt more out of place then I did at that moment, without Remus. "You all know we have a test next Wednesday. I hope you're all prepared, and I've written the homework on the board. If you have any questions about the lesson I taught today, now is the time to ask."

The best—and only great—thing about Professor Hobbs was that every class, five minutes before the bell, he let us ask him any questions we had.

As I raised my hand and looked around the classroom, I was not at all surprised to see that my hand was the only hand up, per usual.

"Yes, Lily." He called on me, grabbing a tissue from his desk and blowing his nose.

"Um, yes, I didn't understand what you said about carrying over the 17 in problem number four." I said. As usual, quiet snickers erupted from the Ravenclaws' side of the classroom and as usual, it took the force of the almighty Gods to keep me from shouting at them, "_YOU THINK YOU'RE SO SUPERIOR BUT WHO HAS A DATE TO THE NEXT HOGSMEADE TRIP?" _

Admittedly, it wasn't me. But that would change, I hoped. There was this one boy in my History of Magic class—

"Alright," Hobbs waved his wand and the problem appeared on the board once more. "Did you understand the theorem before that?" He wheezed.

"No, sir." I admitted.

Flashes of hands went up in the class even before Hobbs could ask for someone in the class to explain it to me. I rolled my eyes, feeling useless in this class. Tommy Jenkins, a boy with light orange hair and more freckles than me, was called on. Unnecessarily, he stood up—as if I couldn't hear him when he was sitting—and cleared his phlegm before explaining in the exact words what Hobbs had already said fifteen minutes ago.

Unable to control my sarcasm, I said, "Thank you, Tommy. But let me ask you this: Is it mathematically correct to believe that if a substance does not change, it will produce the same exact response, no matter when the time that you test it?"

"Well, providing the substance doesn't change, then yes, its response should stay the exact same at any given time." He said, in a tone that said he was just playing along as if humoring a small child.

"Well then, Tommy," I began, standing up so I could see him eye to eye and raising the sarcasm meter to the high hundreds. "If Professor Hobbs said it in those _exact words_ and I didn't understand twenty minutes ago, will I then understand when you say the _exact same thing_, twenty minutes later?"

The bell cut him off just as he opened his mouth. I ran out of class before I could be patronized further or told off by Hobbs. I'm sure I would come to regret that little episode by tomorrow, but for now, I was proud of myself for finally standing up to that geek.

I could take not being the smartest in the class, but I couldn't take a demeaning tone from someone who was supposed to be my equal. And so what, if my temper took the better of me sometimes? Tommy needed to be taken down a notch, and there sure as hell was no one else in that class who was going to do it.

"Looking awfully pleased," Potter caught up with me in the hallways. I had never noticed before, but it was actually normal that we spoke in between classes all the sudden. I can't remember when this changed.

"I'll tell you about it later," I said, smirking smugly. Again, I couldn't remember when we started sharing stories. When did this all start? I guess I really _was_ friends with Potter. But the main question wasn't when, but _how?_

"Gotta run," He said suddenly, looking at his watch. "Catch you later."

And, as if it were perfectly normal that he was promising to see me later on, I smiled and nodded. "Sounds good."

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope you all liked this chapter, and if you did, please review it for me! I really love to hear from you all.**

**-Taylor**


	5. 125 Days Before

**Chapter 5—125 DAYS BEFORE**

The snow was gone faster than it had come. A few days ago, the grounds had been completely covered in ugly, brown slush. Now, there was only rain. It seemed Scotland was back to its expected climate.

The second Saturday back from the holidays and my sleeping patterns still weren't back to normal. Janice and Grace had to wake me up after breakfast, informing me that if I "_didn't move my lazy ass_" I'd miss the game.

Marlene had been prepping for this game over the holidays and had practices every other day after school since it had begun. She'd told me it was important to beat the Ravenclaws in this match if they wanted to come in either second or first before the Finals.

I'd asked how a game so far from the Finals could be so important, but I hadn't really been listening to her answer. However, I did understand that she wanted me there today to cheer her on. I groaned as I looked out the window to see rain. In all fairness, it was only a light drizzle, but I imagined it would amount to something worse by the time the bout had finished.

"Wait," Janice said urgently as I ran into the bathroom quickly to brush my teeth and to get ready. I stopped in my tracks, staring at her. "I need a new outfit."

Grace groaned, leaning on my bedpost as she waited on us both to dress, Janice wearing her sleek black raincoat, a pleated skirt with patterned tights, and purple rain boots while I opted for jeans and trainers (praying they wouldn't get drenched).

We rushed as quickly as possible—with me awkwardly dodging puddles—to the pitch, but alas, the whistle was blown before we could get seats. Thankfully, Kelly had saved us spots, and we ignored the angry jeers we got from the crowd as we blocked the view while we took our seats.

I'm not going to lie and say I was a Quidditch professional, but I wasn't bad. I certainly understood all the common rules, and I cheered harder than most, which made up for most of my ignorance on the subject.

Potter started off the game quite nicely by scoring the first point, getting the quaffle through the left hoop. I cheered loudly (especially because the Keeper was Tommy Jenkins, the nerd from Arithmancy).

Unfortunately, Kim Campbell from Ravenclaw scored the next two points, and our side of the pitch was quiet except for my words of optimism, trying to keep the Gryffindors motivated.

"_Don't get discouraged! The game has only just begun_!" I screamed loudly after the score turned from tie to favour of the Ravenclaws.

"_Lily, shut up_!" Marlene shouted back. "_We're not discouraged_!"

Both sides of the pitch laughed as I sat down. I was pleased though, because Marlene scored, and Potter scored twice more after that. With the score at a nice 40-20, I thought I should remind my team not to get lazy.

"_Don't get lazy just because we're winning!"_ I yelled at the top of my lungs when the grounds were completely silent.

"_We're not, Lily!"_ Potter shouted, and promptly scored another point after the whistle.

Cheers erupted from our side of the field, but there was a distinct murmur in the crowds that wasn't there before from both sides. I heard my name whispered from behind me, and I whipped around.

"What did you say?" I demanded.

The three fourth year girls were quiet, until one of them spoke up: "He called you Lily."

I arched my brows in acknowledgement. It was simply mind-boggling to think that students who weren't even in my year knew about Evans and Potter.

"Yeah, we're friends." I explained.

"I thought you hated him." The same fourth year spoke up, as if in a challenging tone.

"Precisely." I said, watching her carefully. I'd never seen her before and it looked like she had quite the attitude. "I _hated _him. I like him now."

She turned away quickly, and I shrugged, coming back to the game. The whispers were louder now, more frantic. I tried to push away the words, but my name just seemed to keep cropping up, and finally, I whipped around again.

"Is something the matter?" I demanded, angry now. I wanted to watch the game, not be spoken about as if I were some A-list celebrity announcing that she was pregnant with her best friend's husband!

The three girls were still whispered madly, completely ignoring me. I turned to the boys beside them, who were Gryffindors in my year.

"Josh, Stephen... What's going on?" I knew these boys quite well. In third year I had been in a project with both of them. They were pretty decent back then, but once they hit fourth year they started making sex jokes more often than Potter asked me out and, needless to say, our relationship faded.

"Merlin Lily, James will flip when he finds out!" Josh said excitedly.

"Finds out what?" I said. Suddenly, cheers erupted from my best mates. _Great_. Marlene had just scored another point and I had missed it. Without waiting for Josh to reply, I turned around, completely focused on watching the rest of the game. However, our Seeker, Adam Kaylyn had caught the snitch and we had won.

I didn't think about the whispers again until lunch that day, when they picked up again as I walked into the Great Hall with James and Marlene.

Trying my best to ignore them, I said to them both, "Like I was saying before, great match."

"I know!" Marlene cheered quietly, punching a small fist in the air. "Did you see that last goal of mine?"

"Fantastic." James agreed, and then, clearly feeling the eyes on him, "Um, did I miss something?" He asked, concerned.

"They're all just intimidated by my awesomeness now. I knew it would happen someday." Marlene said smugly.

"I'm not sure," I ignored her, responding to James. "It started at the match after I was cheering you on."

"_Cheering us on_." Marlene repeated sarcastically with a snort. "No wonder they're staring. They're wondering how someone can be so loud and so ignorant at the same time."

Ignoring her again, I clicked my tongue and tried to ignore the stares and whispers. Potter joined his friends at their regular spot at the end of the table, while Marlene and I sat with Kelly and Janice.

"Grace's just gone up to fix her makeup. Got smudged in the rain, she says." Janice informed us. "Actually, I should probably get changed into regular clothes."

"What's wrong with your clothes now?" Kelly demanded.

"They're outside clothes!" Janice rolled her eyes. "I'll meet up with you all later."

"And then there were three," Marlene muttered, grabbing some chicken. "I see what you mean about the stares, though." She said uncomfortably. "This is weird."

"I was about to ask about that..." Kelly said unknowingly, looking around carefully.

A little while later, Grace and Janice dashed back into the Great Hall hysterically. "Lily!" They hissed. "Come upstairs!"

"What?" I hissed back, confused and hungry.

They grabbed me by the hands and forced me to follow. Marlene and Kelly shrugged and followed as well, until we reached the Gryffindor common room, and they pulled me up the stairs.

"You don't have to _pull,_" I wrenched my hands from their grasps after we'd reached our dorm, rubbing them tenderly with a scowl.

"Do you fancy James?" Grace asked suddenly, eyes wide.

"Why is everyone asking that?" I demanded, forgetting about my sore hands. "No!"

There was a long silence. Then,

"Well, we were stopped by at least five groups, asking us if the rumours were true." Janice explained.

"_And you told them?"_ I demanded frantically. I couldn't have this rumour get out. Especially after what I'd seen in his textbook the other day—this would ruin our friendship for sure. He'd ask me out every five minutes!

"We er, we said we didn't know." Janice shrugged. After noticing my expression, she'd put her hands up in surrender. "_What?_ How were we supposed to know it wasn't true?"

"I think I'd tell you if I _bloody well_ _fancied Potter!"_ I yelled, feeling anger rise in my chest.

"It's not their fault, Lily." Marlene told me vehemently. "Calm down."

"I can't!" I hissed back. "You don't understand! I _like_ him! We are _good mates_! If he finds out that I fancy him—_which I don't_—it'll ruin any chance we ever had at an actual relationship!"

"We can't do anything about it," Janice said. "So there's no use in getting angry with _us_." She huffed, sitting on her bed and turning away from me.

After a moment, I realized she was right. "I—I'm sorry. This is just confusing." I said, as if that made it any better that I'd just completely exploded at them. "Sorry." I said again.

"It's OK." Kelly said, as Janice continued to avoid my gaze. "But you'd better go tell James it's a rumour before he finds out."

"Oh, it's no use." I sighed, plopping down onto my bed. "I bet by now fifty people have already asked him."

"You'd might as well go and see." Grace said.

"I can't look him in the face _now_." I moaned into my pillow. "Oh God, even if he knows it's not true, now everything is going to be all awkward and such."

"You don't know that," Janice said, standing up from her bed and sitting next to me, putting her hand on my back.

As much as I hated her lie, I appreciated the attempt of comfort. I smiled at her, and she smiled back, all traces of our fight long gone.

"I can't bear to see him now." I said. This situation was so weird. I didn't even fancy him yet I was flustered. It was just a rumour and yet, I was so embarrassed. What's worse is that I couldn't even talk myself into believing it wasn't a big deal, because it _was._

Our friendship was going to be ruined. It was official.

* * *

**Author's Note: In recognition to James Potter's birthday, I thought I'd update! Sorry it's taken so long; schoolwork is killing me. Please take some time to review and tell me what you thought of this chapter. I promise I'll try to update quicker next time.**

**-Taylor**


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